


What Are We, In High School?

by ryketyke



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Gen, M/M, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-06 20:04:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6768142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryketyke/pseuds/ryketyke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Sonny,”  he begins, “There’s something important I have to talk to you about.”  He doesn’t go on, instead just looking at Sonny, gauging his reaction.<br/>“Funnily enough, Counselor, I have something important I’d like to talk about, too.”  Barba raises one eyebrow, and waits for him to continue.  “But you should go first.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Are We, In High School?

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first Barisi thing I've ever written, and it's the first ANYTHING I've written in a long time. Please be kind.
> 
> More of a drabble than a fic.

“I…”

“I…”  Barba and Carisi spoke at the same time, breaking the awkward silence to introduce something even more awkward.

Fantastic.

Both men had been tripping over themselves all night, from the moment Sonny had arrived at the restaurant, fifteen minutes late.  That had been the only usual part of the night.  When he got there, he expected some sarcastic crack from Rafael, something about work being more important than his boyfriend.  But when Sonny sat down and apologized for his tardiness, Rafael had only nodded at him, telling him “Don’t worry about it.”

Something was definitely up, but Sonny was too distracted by the looming conversation to think about it too hard.  What did it matter, anyway, if Rafael was upset with him now, when this was likely to be their last date anyway?  Let Rafael be mad, it will only make it easier to walk away.  Right?

Wrong.  Because now here they are, staring at each other, both waiting for the other to speak first.

“There’s-”

“There’s-”   _ Fuck,  _ Sonny thinks,  _ Again? Seriously? _  Rafael is looking at him from across the table, a slight smirk on his face.  How could he think this is funny?  Before Sonny has the chance to wipe that stupid smirk of his face, Barba opens his mouth again.

“Sonny,”  he begins, “There’s something important I have to talk to you about.”  He doesn’t go on, instead just looking at Sonny, gauging his reaction.

“Funnily enough, Counselor, I have something important I’d like to talk about, too.”  Barba raises one eyebrow, and waits for him to continue.  “But you should go first.”  Sonny leans back in his seat, resting his palms on the table.  

“No, Detective, I insist.”  Sonny weighs his options.  There is no way he will be able to convince Rafael to speak first.  Sonny is sure, he is absolutely positive, that if he speaks first he won’t get to hear what Rafael has to say.  Rafael will be to busy yelling at him, calling him disgusting, and telling him to go away.  And then Sonny would spend his next shift filling out more transfer request forms, the sixth set so far in his short career, and Barba would never have to see him again.  Sonny carefully weighs his options.  He puts his elbows on the table and leans forward slightly.

“Okay, how about we countdown and we both say it at the same time?”  Rafael snorts at him, and that one eyebrow makes its way up his forehead again.  

“What are we, in high school?”  Sonny looks at him, silently pleading.  Barba squeezes his eyes shut and pinches the bridge of his nose.  He take one deep breath.  Then two.  Sonny grows more anxious by the second.  

Finally, Rafael lets out a deep sigh and reopens his eyes to look directly into Sonny’s.  “Okay,”  He says as his hand drops from his face to the table, “Okay, fine, we’ll say it at the same time.”

“Okay.”  Sonny nods slightly, before taking a few deep, steadying breaths.  “Ready?”  He looks up to meet Rafael’s eyes. Rafael nods.  “Okay, three… two… one.”

“I wasn’t born male.”  Carisi states.

“I don’t have a penis.”  Barba blabs.

They both stare at each other for a moment, shocked.  It is an admittedly short moment, however, because Carisi starts laughing loudly.  

“What?  What’s funny?”  Rafael asks.  He seems worried.

“You couldn’t come up with a better way to phrase it than that?  ‘I don’t have a penis’? Are you  _ kidding _ me?”

“Well, what did you want me to say?  I didn’t know what you were gonna say! I didn’t know if you’d ever even  _ met _ a trans person before!  I thought I was going to have to take the entire night to explain it to you slowly.”

“And step one of explaining trans-ness slowly ‘I don’t have a penis’?”  Sonny is giggling again.  Rafael just looks at him, taking in how  _ good _ he looks when he is happy like this.  It’s a rare sight for Barba, Carisi’s job doesn’t allow for many smiles or giggles, so of course Rafael is going to admire this while he can.  

When his laughter finally subsides, Rafael speaks again, “Yeah,” He admits, “I guess that was a bit of a silly way to word it.”  

This sets of Sonny’s laughing again.  This time, Rafael laughs with him.  


End file.
